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Comfort woman's family wins compensation suit against Japan in South Korean court
The family of a late comfort woman has won a damages suit against the Japanese government in South Korea, a local court said Friday. The Cheongju District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Lee Man-young, the son of the late Gil Gap-soon, ordering the Japanese government to pay 200 million won (approximately $139,000) in compensation. This marks the third time a Korean court has issued a ruling recognizing the Japanese government's liability for compensating comfort women victims and their f
April 26, 2025 -
South Korean assembly speaker Woo heads to Mongolia for parliamentary diplomacy, climate cooperation
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik departed for Mongolia on Saturday to engage in discussions on parliamentary diplomacy and climate cooperation, his office said. During his five-day visit, Woo is scheduled to meet with top Mongolian officials, including President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh and his parliamentary counterpart, Dashzegve Amarbayasgalan. The talks will focus on strengthening economic and infrastructure cooperation between South Korea and Mongolia, as well as exploring joint responses
April 26, 2025 -
Kazakhstan vows stronger interethnic harmony
Korea Herald correspondent ASTANA, Kazakhstan — Kazakhstan vowed stronger interethnic harmony to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan on Thursday. Taking place at the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, the assembly discussed the nation's statehood and societal cohesion. The APK was established on March 1, 1995, by the first President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and has evolved from an advisory body into a constitutionally recogniz
April 25, 2025 -
S. Korea asks for tariff exemptions, offers to help rebuild US shipbuilding industry
South Korea has requested exemptions from country-specific "reciprocal" and sectoral tariffs imposed by the United States during high-level trade talks held in Washington, while offering to boost its energy imports from the US and help rebuild the country's shipbuilding industry, the finance ministry said Friday. The request for tariff exemptions was made during the "2+2" trade dialogue held on Thursday, which brought together South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Du
April 25, 2025 -
US Navy chief likely to visit South Korea next week: sources
US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan is expected to visit South Korea as early as next week, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday, a trip likely aimed at discussing shipbuilding cooperation in line with the Donald Trump administration's initiatives. Phelan's office has finalized the plan and is fine-tuning the details of the itinerary with government officials and relevant industries in Seoul, according to the sources. Phelan is likely to visit major South Korean shipyards during h
April 24, 2025 -
US delivering 'more forward' Indo-Pacific force posture to deter China: Pentagon chief
The United States is delivering a "more forward" force posture in the Indo-Pacific to help deter an increasingly assertive China, the Pentagon chief said Wednesday, calling on allies and partners to "step up" to be "true force multipliers for freedom." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the remarks during a speech at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania, reaffirming America's security commitment to the Indo-Pacific region and stressing that US President Donald Trump's America First policy do
April 24, 2025 -
Rubio describes N. Korea as 'nuclear armed' country
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described North Korea as a "nuclear-armed" country in an apparent recognition of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons capabilities, despite the Trump administration's stated commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of the North. Rubio used the expression in a podcast interview released Wednesday, as he pointed to a series of security challenges facing the United States, including those from China, Russia and Iran. "We live in a world with a nuclear-armed North K
April 24, 2025 -
US says China's refusal to abide by intl. law hampers its interests, after Seoul-Beijing maritime tensions
China's refusal to comply with international law hampers its economic interests and causes regional instability, a State Department spokesperson said Wednesday, following maritime tensions between Seoul and Beijing over China's installation of steel structures in the Yellow Sea. China has constructed a set of steel structures in the Provisional Maritime Zone near Ieo Islet, a submerged rock off South Korea's southwest coast. The PMZ is an area where the exclusive economic zones of the two countr
April 24, 2025 -
S. Korea, US to hold '2+2' trade talks in Washington amid tariff concerns
South Korea and the United States were set to hold their first "2+2" trade dialogue involving finance and trade ministers in Washington on Thursday, in what is seen as a key step toward potentially easing recently announced US tariffs. The high-level talks, scheduled for 8 a.m., or 9 p.m. in South Korea, will bring together South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, alongside US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. The tal
April 24, 2025 -
Bessent calls for allies' stronger defense commitments ahead of trade talks with S. Korea
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called Wednesday for allies to strengthen their commitments to "shared defense," noting America's provision of security guarantees and "open" markets, as he is set to attend high-profile trade talks with South Korea later this week. Bessent made the remarks during a forum hosted by the Institute of International Finance, a day before he and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are set to join South Korea's Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and Industry Minister
April 24, 2025 -
Seoul to discuss cooperation with US in shipbuilding, energy at trade consultation: minister
South Korea will discuss ways to bolster the country's cooperation with the United States in the shipbuilding and energy sectors at the upcoming bilateral "2+2 trade consultations," Seoul's top trade official said Wednesday. Seoul has highlighted such cooperation as a way of addressing the trade imbalance between the allies, which has prompted Washington to impose hefty import tariffs on South Korea under its broader tariff scheme affecting all its major trading partners. "We plan to discuss the
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea, UAE agree on joint pursuit of overseas nuclear power projects
South Korea and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to pursue joint nuclear power projects abroad as part of broader bilateral cooperation on nuclear energy, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday. The agreement was reached during a high-level consultation on nuclear cooperation between the two countries, held Tuesday in Abu Dhabi and led by South Korea's Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun and UAE Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei. The consultation was launched in 2018 to discus
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea, China set for maritime talks amid tensions over steel structures in Yellow Sea
South Korea and China held a working-level maritime dialogue in Seoul on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said, as tensions are building up over a set of steel structures Beijing has installed in their overlapping waters in the Yellow Sea. The talks come after the two countries engaged in a standoff in February in the Provisional Maritime Zone near South Korea's southwest coast, when Chinese authorities blocked a South Korean ship from inspecting a steel structure China installed in the area. The P
April 23, 2025 -
Eastar Jet launches Seoul-Almaty service
South Korean low-cost airline Eastar Jet has launched a new direct flight between Seoul and Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, according to a press release from the Kazakh Embassy in Seoul. In his remarks at the route launch ceremony, Kazakh Ambassador to Korea Nurgali Arystanov said there would be 11 direct flights per week between Kazakhstan and South Korea. “The addition of two new flights by Eastar Jet creates a new aviation bridge,” said Arystanov. The ambassador noted that people-to-p
April 23, 2025 -
S. Korea voices deep regret over Japan PM's offering, lawmakers' visit to war shrine
South Korea expressed deep regret Tuesday after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to a war shrine seen as symbolizing its militaristic past and its lawmakers paid their respects there. Ishiba sent the offering to the Yasukuni Shrine honoring Japanese war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allies in international tribunals for their roles in World War II, on the occasion of the annual spring festival. A bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers also vis
April 22, 2025